Stigmatising and removing defective children from society: the influence of eugenic thinking

Sheehy, Kieron (2010). Stigmatising and removing defective children from society: the influence of eugenic thinking. In: Brockliss, Laurence and Montgomery, Heather eds. Childhood and Violence in the Western Tradition. Childhood in Archaeology. Oxford, U.K.: Oxbow Books.

URL: http://www.oxbowbooks.com/bookinfo.cfm/ID/89227

Abstract

About the book:
The violence and neglect suffered by children today is a common subject of media attention and much political hand-wringing, not just in Britain but in other parts of the western world. As yet, however, there has been no attempt to explore this concern historically and look at how the boundary between good and bad parenting may have changed across time. This book attempts to fill the gap by examining the role of violence and neglect in the relations between parents/carers and children from the Bronze Age to the present. By demonstrating how the boundary between acceptable and unacceptable forms of childrearing has shifted through the ages, and not necessarily in a linear direction, it will emphasise how relatively recent our contemporary understanding of good and bad parenting is, and hence the high likelihood that that understanding has not been completely digested.

Viewing alternatives

Item Actions

Export

You can export this page using these formats